ROME — Within minutes of their tip-off with Forsyth Central on Saturday, Rome’s girls showed why they’ve been the next best thing to unbeatable this season.

Led by 16 points and 7 steals from senior power forward Mauri Wells, the No. 2-ranked Lady Wolves paraded their championship credentials before a packed house and cruised to a 72-32 home win in the first round of the Class AAAA state playoffs. Central’s season is now complete.

It was the first-ever state tournament victory for a Lady Wolves (29-1) program that began in 1992 and consistently boasted strong regular season efforts in recents seasons — only to wilt in the first round of the playoffs year after year.

Unfortunately for the Lady Bulldogs (16-9), Saturday brought no such collapse, as Rome jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the first quarter on the back of three 3-pointers.

Central trailed 18-10 in the second period when the Lady Wolves put the game out of reach during a stretch in which they scored 17 unanswered points over more than six minutes. Holly Hildebrandt finally found the bottom of the net and broke the run on a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left before the half, leaving Central trailing 35-13 at the break.

“I certainly knew they were capable of putting up a lot of points against us, but I didn’t anticipate them doing that,” Central coach Andy Martin said. “When you dig yourself a 15-point hole in the first quarter, they can take chances on defense and play more relaxed.”

Rome rotated its squad after halftime but continued to score from the permiter, recording three more 3-pointers to narrowly tip Central 13-12 in third-quarter scoring. Christy Hewatt (9 points) scored five points for the visitors in the period.

“We showed right there in the third quarter what we’re made of,” Martin said. “Creating turnovers, scoring off them, and people looking to create things. It took a few minutes for us to get used to that spotlight.”

Kayla Richards tallied 13 of her team-high 15 points in the second half and scored all 7 of the Lady Dawgs’ fourth quarter points.

Desiree Scott (15 points) and Vanessa Calhoun (10) were also in double figures for Rome.

Despite the lopsided loss, Martin praised his Central team that, like Rome, made history this season. The Lady Bulldogs’ appearance in the state playoffs was their first in 24 years, and the coach was adamant that the achievement was not lost on his players.

“It’s tough to get beat by that kind of a margin, but one game doesn’t define us,” Martin said.

“There are many layers to this team … on and off the court. There’s only going to be one team that’s still standing at the end, and if you’ve got to go out, I’d rather go out with this bunch than any other.”

Central will face Rome again next season, when the two schools move to the new Region 7-AAAA.